The present invention relates generally to vehicle-mounted racks, and more particularly to securing recreational equipment to vehicle-mounted racks having different crossbar styles.
In response to the increasing popularity of outdoor recreational activities such as bicycling, skiing, canoeing, etc., a variety of vehicle-mounted racks have been developed to allow recreational equipment to be carried on a vehicle. These vehicle racks typically include rigid crossbars extending over the roof of the vehicle or adjacent the rear of the vehicle. Various load-carrying members adapted to support particular types of recreational equipment are mounted on the cross bars. For example, one type of load-carrying member might be used to carry a bicycle and a different type of load-carrying member might be used to carry a canoe. Thus, a recreational enthusiast may purchase a single rack for his or her vehicle, and then purchase one of a variety of load-carrying members depending on the equipment to be carried.
As might be expected, the vehicle racks of different manufacturers often are not compatible. Specifically, different manufacturers may use different styles of crossbars. As a result a load carrying-member designed for one crossbar style cannot be used with a vehicle rack having a different crossbar style.
The invention provides an apparatus for securing recreational equipment to a vehicle-mounted rack. The apparatus includes a load-carrying member adapted to carry recreational equipment adjacent a vehicle, and a clamping member adapted to secure the load-carrying member to a crossbar of the vehicle rack. The clamping member is configured to clamp to at least two different styles of crossbars to prevent relative movement between the load-carrying member and the crossbar. Optionally, the clamping member may be configured to snap onto the crossbar.